


offshoot

by forseti



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Rey Solo, you're going to have pry this theory from my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-15 17:50:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7232629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forseti/pseuds/forseti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A newborn baby is not like anything he’s held before. But he’s willing to try—she’s his sister, after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	offshoot

  _‘She’s so small,’_ is his first thought.

 _‘And loud,’_ is his second.

“Ben,” his mother says, breaking him out of his reverie. He looks up, taking in his mother—she’s pale though her cheeks are red from exhaustion, and there are strands of hair sticking to her cheeks. She looks so different from the dignified, regal senator he’s come to know.

 _‘She’s still beautiful,’_ he thinks, knowing his father would agree.

“Do you want to hold her?” she asks with a weary smile.

“Can I?” he asks, trying to keep his voice down. His sister is fussing, eyes screwed shut. “She doesn’t look like she wants to be held,” he adds, eyebrows furrowed.

His mother laughs. “It’s alright. Come here.”

He scoots over, eyeing the multiple wires and cords leading to beeping machines he assumes are important.

“Now, move your arms like so—yes, just prop your right one up more, to support her head. Good, I’m going to hand her over now, okay?”

He nods, palms clammy. A baby isn’t like anything he’s held before; she’s a real, living human being—and his _sister_ no less.

His mother passes her over and for a moment he panics, thinking he’ll drop her—but then she’s nestled in the shelter of his arms and he’s holding his newborn sister. She feels weightless; he worries that if he lessens his grip she’ll float away rather than drop to the floor.

As if reading his thoughts, Leia says, “She weighs less than you did, when you were born. And you were pretty small.”

“I’m not so small anymore,” he says, straightening his posture. It’s true that his height has shot upwards quickly in the past few months—he’s now eye-level with his mother’s shoulders.

Leia smiles. “I know. At the rate you’re growing you’re going to be taller than your father.”

“Hey, don’t sell me _short_.”

Ben turns (slowly, carefully). His father is standing in the doorway, hair ruffled—presumably from running down the hall despite Leia (and several doctors) telling him not to multiple times.

Leia snorts. “Kind of hard not to. Were you running in the halls again?”

“Doesn’t matter. No one caught me,” Han winks at Ben, who ducks his head to hide his smile. “What do you think, kid? Your new sister ain’t half-bad, right?”

Ben shakes his head. “No, she’s…” He pauses, uncertain of what to say. She’s small, he thinks. She’s pink and noisy. And she’s his sister. He’s a brother, now. No longer is he the solitary child of Leia Organa and Han Solo.

He has a sister, a sibling to call his own.

His chest feels tight all of a sudden, as if something is sitting inside and _squeezing_ his heart. It’s then, he knows, that he has to protect her. Even if she has their parents and various uncles, he needs to be there for her as well. That’s the older sibling’s duty, he tells himself. He swears it.

A warm hand falls onto his shoulder. “Ben? Hey, you okay?”

He blinks, suddenly aware that his eyes are stinging and it feels as though something is lodged in his throat.

He clears his throat, gently adjusting the bundle in his arms so he can wipe at his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replies, voice rough. It’s embarrassing to be caught crying in front of not one but _both_ parents.

Leia’s eyebrows are pinched as she shares a look with Han. “I can take her back—”

“No,” he says, so quickly that both of Leia’s eyebrows go up. “No,” he adds, “I-I want to hold her for a little longer, if that’s alright.”

“Of course you can. Come, sit down.”

Ben lowers himself onto the chair beside the bed, holding his breath as his sister shifts in her blankets, lips pursed and tiny fists clenched. 

“I’m amazed she quieted down so fast,” Han murmurs, sinking down next to his wife on the bed.

“It’s probably Ben’s influence. She knows her brother is holding her.”

“Oh, is that how the Force works?”

Leia rolls her eyes, elbowing Han in the arm. Ben pays them no mind. His sister’s eyes are fluttering in her sleep; he wonders what she’s dreaming about, if she’s dreaming at all.

“She needs a name, you know.” 

“I know.” Leia is quiet for a moment, watching her children. Sensing Han’s impulse to speak, she beats him to the punch. “And no, we’re not naming her after the _Falcon_.”

Han’s mouth snaps shut. Ben ducks his head to hide his grin.

“It wouldn’t be the worst name…” his father grumbles after a few minutes.

“No worse than Ewok Junior.”

“I was joking when I suggested that.”

_“Han.”_

“Okay, maybe I wasn’t joking. But, y’know, it’s always an option…” 

“Absolutely not.”

Han holds up both hands, sending Ben another wink. “I get it, I get it.”

The only sound in the room is the monitors beeping and the steady drip of the faucet in the corner. Han stares up at the ceiling, lost in thought as Leia’s eyes drift to Ben and his sister again.

“What about my mother?”

“Your—what?”

“My mother,” Leia repeats. “Not my birth mother, obviously, but—”

Han is nodding. “Breha. That was her name, right? Breha.”

Leia hums, “Yes.”

“It’s a pretty name,” Han offers, “I like it.”

“I like it,” Ben pipes up. The baby in his arms lets out a gurgle. He feels his lips pulling into a smile. “I think she likes it, too.”

“Breha,” Leia says with a wistful smile, “Yes, it suits her just fine.”

“Breha it is, then.” Han reclines against the pillows, slipping an arm around his wife. “Ben and Breha. That works out pretty well, huh?”

“Reminds me of Luke and I.”

Han chuckles.“Yeah, weird how that worked out.”

Leia relaxes into his embrace, closing her eyes. She lets out a sigh, “Mm.”

“You should get some rest,” Han says, sensing her weariness. He lets go, pulling up her blanket. Leaning over, he presses a feather-light kiss to her forehead. “We’ll be in the waiting room for a little while. Luke said he’d be back in the morning.”

Leia is already halfway asleep, shoulders sagging and eyes shut. “Alright...I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Han motions for Ben to put his sister in her bed. He slowly stands, keeping one eye on Breha and the other on his feet as he walks over. Putting her down (gently, _gently_ ) he allows himself to press a finger to her cheek. Breha leans into his touch, lips puckered and smiling.

“She already loves you, kid.”

“You think so?”

Han ruffles his hair. “I know so. You’re gonna be a great big brother.”

Ben nods, looking down at his sister.

_I have to be._

“I hope so.”

**Author's Note:**

> auugghhh i'm not totally satisfied with this but it's been sitting on my computer for a while now so here it is!! title is subject to change bc i don't really like what i have rn but i suck at coming up with proper titles so it may be a little while.
> 
> i love this family though and i'm a sucker for siblings so i had to write something for ben and rey. i decided to go with the popular theory that rey's birth name is breha like leia's adopted mom because it's cute, okay?
> 
> i may write more for this family later—there's so many possibilities to explore.


End file.
